August 2008 Rules

So I haven't done much blogging in August and I think that I have a legitimate reason why. It's because August has been too awesome for blogging. Let me explain.

August 13th (Sarah Darling's Birthday) my wife and I flew out to Cancun, Old Mexico with Jennifer's family. I know what you are thinking, total buzz kill with the in-laws but it wasn't that bad, as a matter of fact I really like my in-laws so I still had a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of our very first flight together...

...and here are the in-laws.

This was my first trip to Cancun and I was really glad to be able to go. We didn't do a whole lot of things in Cancun itself but we did a lot of things in surrounding areas. Our first full day was at the ancient Mayan ruins called Chichen Itza. This place was amazing and I was so surprised about how big it was. I always thought that it was just the main Temple there but there are so many other buildings. Our first stop this day was to a cenote which is a sink hole that is about 40 meters deep of fresh water. We were able to swim in this cenote which was about 15 minutes away from the Chichen Itza ruins. The water was amazing and so crystal clear. There are hundreds of cenote's all over Mexico like this one.

After the Cenote we went to Chichen Itza which like I said before was amazing. Here are a ton of pictures that I loved from there. Oh and as a warning, half way through this trip it started to pour rain on us. We coincidently got soaked and I took off my drenched shirt for the end of our tour. This was our first full day so I did not have a tan yet and for that I apologize for any disturbing pictures you may see of me.

The Main Temple

A column from the Temple of 1000 Warriors. There are probably a couple hundred columns just like this one. I thought of you Erin when I took this picture. I thought you would like it.

These next pictures are of building I liked a lot. It is a big building that only is about close to six feet tall. All around the perimeter are carved skulls which I thought was really cool.

This first picture is looking down the south facing wall...

...This one is looking down the west facing wall...

...and these are the skulls.

According to our tour guide sacrificed humans would be thrown in this Cenote. The Mayans performed human sacrifice and dumped them in cenotes like these to help bring forth new life. They believed that these water openings was a sort of conduit to the afterlife and by performing sacrifices like these it would bring rain, crops, and plenty of prosperity. It was an honor to be sacrificed.

Proof of the rain...

Here are some other pictures of our trip that I like a lot.

Jennifer took this picture at Isla de Mujeres which is called Island of the Women. This is a Mayan woman giving birth.